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I'm not sure why you are getting so agitated about my posts. I asked legitimate questions. If that post made no sense to you, then it is reflective of your own, as I took my questions from yours. My intent was not to antagonize you -- it was to understand why you seemed to think a flu shot was not good for you this year. You mentioned possible VL blip -- seems like no big deal to me. You mentioned that you recently had blood work and didn't want the shot to mess up the results -- not sure how it would do so after you had blood drawn. That is why I said that it made no sense to me.

Does the flu vaccine lose a lot of its protection by 6 months out? I've heard several people say they would not get the flu shot in August for sure. They would at least wait until October, saying the flu doesn't really get going here until around Christmas through late February. Many say they wait until mid-November. I know the flu can hit at anytime, but December through February seems to be the time most people I know have been infected. Are people thinking they are being strategic, but really not?

I tend to not really trust the Government even though I served in various aspects of the Government Military & Police Department. I tend to lean more towards what the Government tells us to do as Conspiracy than truth. I do not believe in the Flu shot, I told my Doctor last year that I was not going to get a Flu shot and was not going to get one this year. Is there a reason that I should get one? I speak to friends about the Flu shot and everyone says they got sick afterwards, I hear the same story over & over again, maybe the forum can explain this better.

I tend to not really trust the Government even though I served in various aspects of the Government Military & Police Department. I tend to lean more towards what the Government tells us to do as Conspiracy than truth. I do not believe in the Flu shot, I told my Doctor last year that I was not going to get a Flu shot and was not going to get one this year. Is there a reason that I should get one? I speak to friends about the Flu shot and everyone says they got sick afterwards, I hear the same story over & over again, maybe the forum can explain this better.

Conspiracy, eh? Of what sort of conspiracy could flu shots possibly be a part?

All I can tell you is my own experience - I used to normally get the flu pretty much every year, but since I've been eligible for the flu vaccine, I haven't had it once. I've had the "winter vomiting virus" (cause by noroviruses), but that's not the flu and I don't believe there is a vaccine against the noroviruses. If there were, I'd get it. WVV is nasty stuff and it doesn't only make you throw up. (Use your imaginations people!)

I was in my doctor's office last week to drop off a script renewal and they had just finished putting the flu shot posters up, so I got my shot appointment for this coming Thursday. Yippee!

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Conspiracy, eh? Of what sort of conspiracy could flu shots possibly be a part?

All I can tell you is my own experience - I used to normally get the flu pretty much every year, but since I've been eligible for the flu vaccine, I haven't had it once. I've had the "winter vomiting virus" (cause by noroviruses), but that's not the flu and I don't believe there is a vaccine against the noroviruses. If there were, I'd get it. WVV is nasty stuff and it doesn't only make you throw up. (Use your imaginations people!)

I was in my doctor's office last week to drop off a script renewal and they had just finished putting the flu shot posters up, so I got my shot appointment for this coming Thursday. Yippee!

Ann,

I served in the Military and got every inoculation under the sun. After all of the shots I got in the Military I could no longer use butter, oil & eat several types of food almost overnight. There is a movie out there on You Tube called ‘Beyond Treason’ and it addresses the concerns I have of ‘WE THE PEOPLE’ having no real idea of what is exactly in the vaccine. I do take Atripla so I guess I could say that for Atripla as well. I guess I do not really understand why people who get the shot get sick afterwards. I have heard in from friends, family & coworkers so it is definitely not an isolated incident. I guess it is just my personal preference not to get the shot.

I used to think the same way. In 25 yrs of living in OH, the only 2 yrs I had the flu were the 2 yrs I had the flu shot. However I've taken 3 flu shots my first three yrs back in SC and had no flu. Thinking back on it though, those 2 yrs in OH were also the years I developed PCP and nearly died in the hospital. Rather than blaming in on the flu shots perhaps for me it was just the whole having AIDS issuse

I have heard in from friends, family & coworkers so it is definitely not an isolated incident.

Ah! That's the same logic that is going to cause probably 70% of SC to vote for Romney (though they wanted Newt or Santorum); because friends, family & coworkers told each other that Obama is a Marxist, Socialist, Communist, Muslim born in another country intent on destroying America through welfare, food stamps, abortions, birth control and healthcare (oh, and of course according to my Tea Party neighbors, he's a black man so he shouldn't be president anyway)

I say that to only say that anecdotal evidence really isn't evidence. However according to VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System http://vaers.hhs.gov/index) there were only 6971 reported problems after the flu shot in 2011. With millions of flu shots administered, the real side effect percentage is actually incredibly low - despite what all our friends, family & coworkers say.

I have never gotten "sick" from the shot. I have gotten that feeling of malaise for about a week, especially after the H1N1. Also had ringing in the ears the first day or two. But, a small fever would be expected when something enters your body. No laughs. And, could just be in our heads, too.

My brother refuses the shot and gets sick a few times a year. He thinks the body needs to get sick to make it stronger. The chiropractor in him. But, I always tell him it obviously isn't making him stronger, because he's sick all the time. If we went on stereotypes, people would think he's the one with HIV.

I haven't had a flu shot in 20 years.... I also rarely have been sick. I have had the flu 3 maybe R times. There is no conspiracy for the flu shot. And it is false that the shot makes one sick. It is a personal decision for me not to get the shot. That being said I have my children get one each year.

I haven't had a flu shot in 20 years.... I also rarely have been sick. I have had the flu 3 maybe R times. There is no conspiracy for the flu shot. And it is false that the shot makes one sick. It is a personal decision for me not to get the shot. That being said I have my children get one each year.

I'm curious about this.... Why is it "OK" for your kids to get the flu shot but not you? What is the logic behind that?

I find it disheartening that every year I hear the same ol' stuff -- "people get the shot and get sick". People GET SICK all the time - flu vaccine or not. People call many things the "flu" that are NOT influenza at all. If you had the actual flu, you'd remember it. You are pretty much bedridden for a few days -- unless you end up needing hospitalization or you die from it (thousands do die -- each and every year).

Finally -- getting a flu shot may be a "personal decision" but it has the potential to impact many. If one has no medical reasons to avoid vaccine (like egg allergies, etc) -- it is the height of selfishness to avoid a flu shot. Your "decision" puts many others at risk if you come down with the flu.

So -- skip the shot if you choose, but please don't pass it off as a "personal" thing -- a virus as infectious as influenza is rarely ever "personal".

I recently tested Poz and just started Atripla about two weeks ago. I was going to ask my doc about taking a flu shot but forgot to. Has anyone had any issues with the flu shot and taking their meds, especially Atripla? I'm a newbie so I confused about everything! LOL! Any advise would be appreciated!

It's amazing that over the six years I've been on this forum I never tire of hearing the most ridiculous viewpoints by pozzies about getting a simple flu shot.

you're in luck then. LOL Every year we continue to get more and more new members (which is really quite a sad thing truth be told), all who come to the forums with their own preconceived notions for and against the flu shots. And since this topic is very seasonal, most of them haven't previously searched out any previous discussions and so the same conspiracy notions and anecdotal stories come up every year - and probably will until the site shuts down.

Those same newbies also join worrying about missing meds by an hour, blips of 25 pts , and wondering what the AMG is.

I'm curious about this.... Why is it "OK" for your kids to get the flu shot but not you? What is the logic behind that?

I didn't get the shot for like 15 or 16 years simply because I rarely gotten sick. I have only been sick enough to miss work three times in the last 20 years. Most of the time I did not have insurance, so not only did I not get the shot, I also did not get regular check ups. My kids got the shot because 1. Their doctor suggested it 2. They attended public school, where many parents allow their children to attend even when sick....

I find it disheartening that every year I hear the same ol' stuff -- "people get the shot and get sick". People GET SICK all the time - flu vaccine or not. People call many things the "flu" that are NOT influenza at all. If you had the actual flu, you'd remember it. You are pretty much bedridden for a few days -- unless you end up needing hospitalization or you die from it (thousands do die -- each and every year).

Based on being bed ridden for a few days, then I have had the flu once. I do not believe the shot makes anyone sick. If I am not wrong, I don't think it is possible to get the flu from the vaccine..

Finally -- getting a flu shot may be a "personal decision" but it has the potential to impact many. If one has no medical reasons to avoid vaccine (like egg allergies, etc) -- it is the height of selfishness to avoid a flu shot. Your "decision" puts many others at risk if you come down with the flu.

So -- skip the shot if you choose, but please don't pass it off as a "personal" thing -- a virus as infectious as influenza is rarely ever "personal".

I am considering getting the shot this year...along with the pneumonia vaccine (which I did not know existed until I tested positive). I am seeing my ID doc next week and will discuss it with her further.

I am such a believer that I was thinking of getting my pneumonia booster a year early. I am coming up on 4 years since I got vaccinated. I got it, while sick with pneumonia. I've wondered what kind a response I had.

Btw, why aren't there titer labs for flu and pneumonia like there is with the heps? If you're in a high risk group, it would be nice to know whether you could benefit from an additional jab.

I was going to get my flu shot last week but came down with the flu on Monday. I had to get my 5 year old's shot record changed to Alabama's blue form and this entailed a trip to the county's health department. That was the previous Friday and by Saturday night I was feverish.

I was going to get my flu shot last week but came down with the flu on Monday. I had to get my 5 year old's shot record changed to Alabama's blue form and this entailed a trip to the county's health department. That was the previous Friday and by Saturday night I was feverish.

I told my wife this would happen. I think I have some sort of gift.

Sorry to hear you got the flu. Hope it wasn't too bad.

Well, I had planned to just wait until my mid-November appt to get mine. I had asked earlier in this thread about whether the vaccine loses efficacy as time goes on. I mentioned how several people I know think it is better to wait until late October or November, saying docs and our good friend google told them the vaccine has lost quite a bit of its power, by the time January and February comes, if you get it too early.

I wasn't planning my vaccination by that thinking. Just thought I would have to make a special appointment, if I got it now. But, I actually think they do walk-ins, without having to make an appt. And, most pharmacies now give them. So, I better just go ahead and get it. Seems silly to wait, when it is available now.

Got mine Friday before last. Sometimes I feel a little feverish for a few days, but not this year. I can't complain anyway...it's free and I don't even have to leave the office. The Occupational Health Nurse comes round with his cart, and this time I took the jab while conversing with a physician about his delinquent records.

Got my flu shot today. Doctor said that it won't lose effectiveness over the season, but I figured that even if it does, I waited long enough so it's OK.

I shall likely be dead by morning.

Logged

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

I got my shot a few weeks ago... my first time ever. Like a few posters here, I had been opposed to the idea. This time, my doctor didn't give me much of a choice. What convinced me was that even if you don't get sick, you can transmit the flu without the vaccine. I didn't know this before.

Being newly diagnosed with HIV has me thinking differently about being a disease carrier, I suppose and I'm happy to not be carrying any more contagions than necessary.

I got my shot a few weeks ago... my first time ever. Like a few posters here, I had been opposed to the idea. This time, my doctor didn't give me much of a choice. What convinced me was that even if you don't get sick, you can transmit the flu without the vaccine. I didn't know this before.

Being newly diagnosed with HIV has me thinking differently about being a disease carrier, I suppose and I'm happy to not be carrying any more contagions than necessary.

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

Well, I just got mu first flu shot since 1991. Being positive is the only reason I agreed to it. I am now waiting on my pneumonia vaccination, I hadn't even heard of that until my doc mentioned it. Now they are talkinng about a shingle vaccine..anyone else got one?

Told my doc I'd take all the shots he recommended last time and to throw in the flu shot, too. So ended up getting five shots total, one right after the other (flu shot, TB check, Hep A & B vaccine, and pneumonia shot). None of them hurt, well maybe the TB one for about 1 second. The most painful part was actually at the cashier, where I had to pony up about $150. But of course, it was money well, well spent, and I'm glad I'm a part of the Cool Pozzies Clique now.

So THAT's what it is! The shots pretty much didn't hurt at all, but my right upper arm's been killing me since last night! Still, pneumonia's gotta be a lot worse, right? (Though it sucks I won't be able to work out till the arm feels at least somewaht better )